


Give Me A Chance

by princessprouvaire



Series: Black Sails drabbles [1]
Category: Black Sails
Genre: Betsy the cat - Freeform, Drabble, Gen, no cats were harmed in the making of this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 03:33:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12832437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessprouvaire/pseuds/princessprouvaire
Summary: Silver, a cat, an angry crew, and a conundrum. What's a lowly cook to do?





	Give Me A Chance

“She wasn’t to know it was wrong!” John argued, following the captain into his cabin. He had decided that the lack of Flint slamming the door in his face was as good as any verbal invitation. 

The captain leaned on his desk, both palms flat behind him on the wood. He fixed John in place with a stern glare, but the younger man refused to shrink back.

“It’s the instinct of the creature. We can’t risk it again, not with how little we’ve been bringing in of late.” Flint said, unwavering. 

Silver was loath to admit that he had developed an attachment to the animal. It had been an unfortunate extension of being made to work so closely with Randall, and now that damned cat had taken such a liking to Silver that she even escaped Randall’s hammock on occasion to steal into bed with him instead, which Silver had found less unwelcome than he’d expected. And so now Silver, having become used to finding the ball of fur winding around his ankles while he helped Randall to prepare the crew’s meals, felt invested in the safety and welfare of the animal.

Which, on this occasion, meant convincing the captain not to throw her overboard. Or worse.

“Just think of how much it’ll disturb poor Randall. Think of how much poor Randall will disturb  _me._ ” he said, clutching at straws. He knew Flint wouldn’t give two shits about any disruption Silver would incur. This much was confirmed to him with the bark of a single loud laugh from the captain, the mirth not quite reaching his eyes.

“She ate  _two days_  worth of meat rations, for the entire crew.  _Two whole days_. You should know as well as any man on board how valuable that is to us.”. Flint shuffled against the desk, crossing his arms over his chest as he frowned at John. “Frankly, I’ve been merciful enough by not allowing the crew to cook her over a spit. She could probably cook up enough meat for a day of meals, she’s not exactly skinny. If I let her stay aboard, what’s to stop her from going at the stores again? Maybe it’ll be the sugar next time. Or she’ll have at the rum, and then we’ll have an angry, sober crew, a loss of profits,  _and_ a drunken cat to contend with.”

Silver gaped for a moment too long, his eyebrows disappearing off into the dark curls of his hairline. He hadn’t been lying to Flint when he had said about Randall bothering him. The man had been hollering away in the galley ever since one of the men had come to him that afternoon to leer and ask what spices best went with cat meat, and his yelling had already driven Silver half mad. He  _had_  to keep this animal alive, at any cost, and he would have to think quick. And so he found the words tumbling out of his mouth before he could really think on them in any way.

“I’ll train her! I’ll train her up, teach her where she can and can’t go. Make sure she’s with me or Randall at all times. You won’t even know she’s on board!” he explained, desperation seeping into his voice. He had been gesturing as he spoke, and had noticed Flint following his display with wide eyes that now narrowed at him.

“You’ll train her.” he echoed, voice dangerously low.

“Just give me a chance? Please?” Silver pleaded. “I can’t take any more with Randall, I’m serious. He’s of more value to you when he’s in half a right mind, you know this as well as I. Just let me…” he trailed off, voice wavering as he looked around the cabin. Flint pushed himself off of the desk, his footsteps slow and heavy as he walked towards Silver. 

He crowded the man’s space, and John looked up to face him, resolute and unwilling to be moved, at least on this. He’d spent enough time on board The Walrus and in the captain’s bad graces that he knew well enough that this was part of Flint’s own personal brand of intimidation.

“The next time this happens, it’s on you.” Flint said, voice low and near enough to Silver that he could feel the warmth of his body close by. “I can’t guarantee that you won’t end up in the fucking sea with her, either.”

Silver took a deep breath, puffing out his chest slightly as he gave Flint a sharp nod, the sides of his mouth struggling not to curve up. “I’ll keep that in mind, captain.” he said, mouth held tight as Flint towered over him even now. His eyes shone dangerously as he gave Silver a single nod towards the door of the cabin. Without looking back at the captain, he twisted away and out of the cabin, a victorious smirk creeping across his face and a spring in his step. Randall would be pleased, at least. Although he still hadn’t quite figured out how he was going to train that damned cat.


End file.
